Cheerleader for literacy.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

NORTH BEND - Gary Sharp is what some might call the bookish type: bespectacled and softspoken, with a passion for books that dates back to childhood.

But the North Bend Public Library director was shocked when he learned that his staff had secretly prepared a nine-page letter of recommendation, nominating him as Oregon's librarian of the year. And he was shocked that he won the award.

"There are some big-name librarians who've gotten that award over the years," Sharp said of the honor bestowed by the Oregon Library Association.

Sharp is the kind of man whose eyes light up when he talks about a first job that others might find mind-numbingly boring - a "retro spective conversion project" at the Eugene Public Library. Sharp, armed with a freshly acquired master of library science degree from the University of Oregon, spent painstaking hours in the late 1970s punching data from catalogs into a computer to create the first database of the library's collection.

Sharp acknowledges that, with his advanced pedigree, he was probably "overqualified" for the job. But a recession meant there weren't many jobs in his field, at least not in Oregon, where he grew up and was determined to stay. And he didn't mind the work, he said, because he knew the end result would make library records easier to search. The Eugene Public Library was the first in the state to develop an online electronic catalog, known as "Ulysses."

"You knew improvements were just going to keep coming and coming," Sharp said.

Born in Coos Bay to the son of a logger, Sharp grew up in Reedsport. His mother and grandparents were avid readers, and they routinely gave him books as a child, from Dr. Seuss to L. Frank Baum, author of the "Wizard of Oz" series. Sharp read "The Lord of the Rings" twice, and moved on to more contemporary works in high school, such as "Catcher in The Rye."

On trips to his grandparents' house in Randle, Wash., Sharp would curl up against a big horse saddle that was propped against a fireplace and read for hours.

He also plowed through magazines, from Rolling Stone to the New Yorker, which he liked especially for the events section. A music fan, Sharp liked to imagine that he could actually attend one of those concerts one day.

"I'd dream about what it would be like seeing a band at Madison Square Garden," he said.

After graduating from Reedsport High, Sharp enrolled at the UO, where he studied journalism. He wanted to stay in the area but, when he graduated in 1975, there were no openings at The Register-Guard. So Sharp got a job at a bookstore near campus: Son of Koob Dooga (or Son of

"A Good Book," backward.) He liked sharing his enthusiasm about reading and books with the customers.

"Eugene has always been a great town for people who love the written word," Sharp said. "You can see and feel their enthusiasm for it."

While working at the bookstore, Sharp got into a conversation one day with a university librarian who suggested he consider a career change.

"He said, `Have you ever thought of becoming a librarian? You're so good with people and you know books really well,'" Sharp said. "It

was almost a revelation."

Sharp returned to college and got a library science degree. After graduation, he saw a job opening for an assistant library director at the North Bend Public Library, applied, and was hired in 1984. In 2000, he took over as director.

He's proud of the library's recent expansion efforts, the hiring of a full-time technology worker to manage the library's 200 computers, and

programs that encourage literacy, such as "Reading in the Rain" and "Title Wave," whereby hundreds of participants read the same book and then get a visit and question-answer session from its author. But he said he had no idea he'd worked hard enough for a statewide award.

Sharp is on the committee that doles out the prizes and, at one point, he was on a conference call with other members when the chairman said, "Gary, you have a conflict of interest. You have to get off the phone now."

He puzzled over what the conflict might be, but, "Being a polite person, I just said `Well, OK,' and hung up."

As it turns out, the conflict was that Sharp couldn't judge himself.

Sharp said he's honored by the recognition but more focused on improving the library's services to the community, which are ever-changing with the evolution of the Internet, and the morass of material online.

Asked if he sees the Web as a threat to traditional brick-and-mortar libraries, Sharp doesn't hesitate. It's an opportunity, he said, one that can bring people into the library to use its computers and that can help store and organize its offerings.

The North Bend Public Library, the third largest on the coast, checked out 260,000 items last year, up from 234,000 in 2003.

"Libraries have this traditional role they play in serving children and their families with good reading material," Sharp said. "But we do a good

job of trying to keep pace with technology."

GARY SHARP

Age: 56

Education: Bachelor degree in journalism, UO, 1975; master of library science degree, UO, 1978

Family: Single. Lives with his 17-year-old cat, Valentine.

Hobbies: Photography, nature hikes, kayaking. Sharp has showcased his photography in several exhibits, and will have a new one at the North Bend Public Library, "The Art of the Everyday Object," that opens June 1.

What he drives: A 2002 VW New Beetle (platinum gray)

Favorite author: Ken Kesey. "`Sometimes a Great Notion' is really one of the best books of the 20th century."

Favorite book: "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garc'a M[sz]rquez

Favorite genre: Contemporary travel accounts

On his night stand: "Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey" by William Least Heat-Moon and "Wild Beauty: Photography of the Columbia River Gorge 1867-1957" edited by Terry Toedtemeier and John Laursen